Personal hygiene devices, particularly those designed for the oral cavity such as toothbrushes and oral irrigators, are well known in the art. A toothbrush generally comprises a head section mounted with tufted bristles and a handle adapted to be grasped by a user. Electric toothbrushes often have a replaceable implement containing the bristles and a handle portion containing a drive motor to drive movement of the bristles. The toothbrush is commonly used in conjunction with a dentifrice, such as toothpaste, to brush teeth. An oral irrigator, also called a dental water jet or water pick, is generally used to irrigate interdental spaces and/or tooth pockets by using a stream of pulsating water.
It has been proposed to combine the toothbrush and the oral irrigator into a single device so that teeth and interdental spaces can be cleaned effectively in one step. Attempts have been made to incorporate an oral irrigator into a toothbrush by providing a fluid conduit opening in the toothbrush head and an irrigating pump moving fluid from a cartridge to the fluid conduit opening. Many attempts require a separate drive to drive the irrigating pump. The irrigating pump is either accommodated in the toothbrush handle or as a completely external apparatus independent of the toothbrush. This typically makes the final device either expensive in construction or impracticable in operation.
Therefore, there is a need to develop an irrigating pump which is small enough to fit within a typical toothbrush for economic and practical operation. There is also a need to combine the toothbrush and the oral irrigator into a single device in a simple, reliable, and cost effective manner. It would also be advantageous, in electric toothbrush embodiments, to have both the pump and toothbrush head driven by a single drive motor.